Canadian authorities arrested a taxidermist who collected more than $1.2 million in insurance claims after allegedly lying about his dead animals spoiling because of a broken refrigerator.
In Wednesday's statement, the Durham Regional Police said they arrested Cyril D'Souza, the 65-year-old owner of the Ontario-based Artistry in Motion Taxidermy, on two counts of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of utter forged documents.
According to the statement, D'Souza claimed to be buying dead tigers, lions, and monkeys for art pieces from zoos, ranches, and safaris in Canada and Africa, but investigators found that he had created fictitious business entities and inflated the value of the dead animals.
The department added that the taxidermist claimed losses in May 2022 and June 2023 to the tune of $500,000 and $700,000, respectively, because of a refrigeration system failure.
The department said its financial crime investigators were notified about possible fraudulent claims by D'Souza's company in September 2023, the same time he was fined $60,000 for violating Canadian wildlife laws.
In a press release by Environment and Climate Change Canada, D'Souza pleaded guilty to violating the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act for lying to obtain a permit to export a full polar bear mount and two bear rugs to China.
The $60,000 fine was the result of a 2018 investigation into D'Souza's permit request, which found that he had provided inconsistent information, and discovered that he was "deceptive and planned extensively in intentionally providing false and misleading information to obtain the permit."
Authorities say under Canadian law, exporters must obtain a permit before exporting regulated species from Canada.
What's next for D'Souza in the fraud case is unclear. According to the statement, he was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court at a later date.
